Missing man found two days after crash
A Hawaii Island man missing since a Tuesday morning car crash has been located.
Arthur Medina, 33, of Kailua-Kona was located about one-eighth of a mile south of Puu Waawaa Ranch at about 8 a.m. Thursday. Police said Medina, whose car was found alongside Mamalahoa Highway Tuesday, had attempted to walk for help following a single-vehicle crash.
He was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Police say he became disoriented after the accident.
Soldier hurt when machine gun misfires
A U.S. Army soldier was injured Sunday when a machine gun malfunctioned at Pohakuloa Training Area.
The soldier, who received injuries to his groin, was flown to Hilo Medical Center where he received light surgery before being transferred to Tripler Army Medical Center on Oahu, said PTA Commander Lt. Col. Eric Shwedo.
Shwedo said the soldier received a 1-inch cut when a piece of the .50-caliber machine gun flew off and hit him. He also received “pepper marks” from gunpowder. The soldier will not face long-term injuries.
Shwedo said the Army is investigating the incident.
No tsunami triggered by earthquake off Mexico
No tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck Thursday morning off the coast of Guerrero, Mexico.
The temblor struck at 7 a.m. Hawaii time, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu.
Concert canceled in Hilo; will go on in Waimea
Tonight’s scheduled Brothers Cazimero Mother’s Day concert at Hilo’s Palace Theater was canceled because of Roland Cazimero’s illness and hospitalization.
Saturday night’s show at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea will go on, with a change. Robert Cazimero will perform with members of his Halau Na Kamalei.
Ticketholders are instructed to contact the Palace business office and tickets must be presented for refund. The business office is open weekdays 10 a.m.-to p.m. Call 934-7010 for more information.
The Saturday show at Kahilu starts at 7 p.m. Robert Cazimero will bring members of his halau with him to play bass, sing and dance hula, while he plays piano and sings the Cazimero repertoire dating back to the Sunday Manoa days of the 1970s.
Roland Cazimero became ill during a May 2 concert at Maui Arts &Cultural Center and was hospitalized at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Family said he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, had fluid removed from his lungs and was on a ventilator.
He remained hospitalized as of Thursday, a hospital official confirmed.
For tickets, refunds or more information about the Kahilu concert, call the box office at 885-6868 or visit kahilutheatre.org.
Monument or historic site proposed for Honouliuli
HONOLULU — The National Park Service is proposing to make the former Honouliuli Internment Camp on Oahu either a monument or historic site.
The park service said Thursday it will hold meetings this month and next to get the public’s feedback on the idea.
Honouliuli held about 320 internees during World War II. Most were second-generation Japanese-Americans but the camp also held Japanese, German and Italian nationals.
Honouliuli was also the largest prisoner of war camp in Hawaii.
Monsanto Co. currently owns the land west of Waipahu where the camp was located. But it plans to donate it to the park service.
The park service says the site would offer visitors an opportunity to learn about World War II internments in Hawaii, martial law, civil liberties, peace and reconciliation.
GMO labeling advocate opens Honolulu office
HONOLULU — A national organization promoting the labeling of genetically modified foods has opened an office in Honolulu.
The Center for Food Safety has also established a local political action committee and will get involved in state elections this summer, Hawaii News Now reported.
The Center for Food Safety helped draft a law in Vermont requiring labeling.
Many in Hawaii have questioned how labeling would be implemented at a state level, said Ashely Lukens, the Honolulu program director. Vermont is going to start answering some of those questions, she said.
Lukens believes increased awareness means Hawaii could follow Vermont’s lead, perhaps as soon as next year.
“With that community energy here in Hawaii, it is inevitable that we will see labeling,” Lukens said.
Hawaii lawmakers have failed to pass labeling legislation in the past. Opponents say labeling would be hard to enforce, cost more for consumers and isn’t necessary.
“Targeting genetically modified foods with mandatory labeling gives the impression that they are more harmful then non-GM foods, which there is no scientific evidence to support,” said Kirby Kester, president-elect of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association.
The Center for Food Safety, which is based in the District of Columbia, isn’t a stranger to the islands. It has supported a new Kauai County law regulating pesticides and genetically modified crops.
Kauai measure would cut funds for natural spaces
LIHUE, Hawaii — Kauai County Council members, facing a budget crunch, have advanced a bill that would cut funds for preserving natural spaces.
The Garden Island newspaper reports that the measure would cut the property tax set aside for the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund.
That share of property taxes would fall from at least 1.5 percent to at least 0.5 percent. According to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s budget proposal, that would work out to a drop of about $850,000 in the next fiscal year.
The County Council could adopt the measure next week after the Planning Committee passed it by a 4-1 vote.
Committee members said they were torn between the need to balance the budget and their desire to protect a vital, voter-approved fund.
“This is a sacred cow,” councilman Tim Bynum said of the Open Space Fund, “but I’m actually considering letting some of it go because we need to behave fiscally responsibly.”
The lone opposition vote in the committee was cast by Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who said cutting from the fund could lead to complacency in preserving the island’s natural spaces.
“This is a fund that, if you start taking from it, you’re going to get used to taking from it,” Yukimura said. “I think we need to learn how to live with us putting aside — like putting aside for a college fund or a financial reserve. It’s a discipline that we need to get used to, and we need to figure out how to do it every year.”
By local and wire sources
